Tenacious One
by Freya Bobbissimo
Summary: Shoujoai and Shounenai. Hilde inadvertently finds love through Heero and Duo.


**Title:** Tenacious One  
**Genres:** General  
**Warnings: **Shoujo-ai, shounen-ai, POV swap. (First half Hilde's, second half Cathy's.)  
**Characters/Pairings:** Hilde/Cathy (impiled: Duo/Heero and Trowa/Quatre)  
**Rating: **PG  
**Summary:** Hilde inadvertently finds love through Heero and Duo.

* * *

Duo thought I was nuts to hack information from Libra's data bank, and he was absolutely right. He knew damn well that wouldn't change anything; fighting for what I believe in came right from him, and I knew he regretted that a little. He shouldn't have, though, because I've never been much for making my own decisions in life. I had been training in the OZ military since my father died, and no one thought much of having a stubborn little girl fighting for them, surprisingly, as long as she followed strict commands.

The law had always been a part of my life, and the last decision I'd made on my own was joining the military. My mom was already dead, and the orphanages were full. I could live on the street and die, or I could fight. Either way, I was risking my life, but I took the way that had actual food and water. Most of the men thought I was a boy, or that I looked enough like one, so they kept their hands off me. The one, and I mean the "one" that didn't, ended up having to pick some of his teeth up off the floor. No one forgot it, and I've been testy around men since.

I'll never forget how I felt that day, flying off Libra to get to Peacemillion. I said I'd make it there, and I did, though not the way I expected to. It's ironic how Duo ended up saving my butt, when I was aiming to help him, and we occasionally get a laugh out of that nowadays. He's a good person, that Duo, and I miss living with him sometimes. He's the only man who's treated me as an equal in battle; he's the only man I could share a room with. Duo never looked at me, and I knew why since the moment I met him.

Sometimes I find things of his laying around. He had a nasty habit of leaving his socks on the floor of his room, something of which he didn't do until Heero Yuy came knocking about. I've never seen two people pick up habits from each other as quickly as they did. I didn't know Heero well, but he did strike me as someone drastically different from Duo at first glace. I couldn't have been anymore mistaken; they were both survivors, and there were things they just couldn't explain, even if I, too, was a soldier. But, they were Gundam pilots, and they headed face first into battle without fearing death. That's where we differ.

They left three years ago, and moved across town to live closer to another friend of theirs. I stopped by their place every so often to hang out, and they were always friendly. Heero was especially friendly, in spite of certain war stories Duo told, often involving a gun pointed between Relena Peacecraft's eyes. It was always the same story, but apparently it's how they met. Duo always talks about him, and doesn't care if Heero overhears. I never thought much of their interaction while they lived with me, until the day I caught them kissing in the doorway. That's when I realized what a sap Heero could be. His eyes told the whole bloody story when he caught me staring.

He and Duo invited a few close-by friends over for a barbeque a few months ago, and none of us saw this as a ploy for Heero to propose to Duo. He wasn't traditional about it, but I doubt anyone expected him to be. He probably didn't want to embarrass Duo by getting down on his knees, I'll bet. It happened when Relena asked Heero what his plans for the future were, and he pulled the ring out of his pocket and tossed it to Duo. Everyone was silent; all eyes were focused on Duo, mine especially. He looked right at me, and I smiled, which I'm guessing he took as a silent blessing.

Later I heard Relena and another girl discussing the engagement soon after. I didn't really expect Relena to say anything else about it, though she sounded thrilled. The other girl talked about her brother, and how he had difficulty getting in contact with his own lover. That sounded oddly similar to Duo; he once went through weeks of hell trying to get in contact with Heero after a stupid rumor about one of the Gundam pilots being killed hit the news.

I've never seen rumors have such a positive outcome.

"Hello, Hilde," said Relena, as she walked past me. I don't think you could've taken that smile off her face if you had a Gundam step on her foot.

"You must be Duo's friend," said the other girl, as she approached me. "Hilde."

"Yeah," I responded, and shook her hand slowly. It lingered a bit longer than I expected it to, but she wasn't trying to let go anymore than I was. She smiled and walked over toward Trowa, and the words "see ya around" lingered much longer than her hand did.

I'm coming to see her right now; Trowa lost half the pieces to his chess set, so he'll be much too busy trying to find them.

* * *

Hilde has to be the most tenacious girl I've ever met in my life; I've been warned that she and Duo were a lot alike. Speaking of which, he and Heero have been off honeymooning for over a week now, and Trowa's been a bit quiet lately. Now that his two best friends are married, he probably thinks it's about time he finds Quatre. It's his decision to leave, though it'd be awfully lonely here without him

He gets along with Hilde about the same way he gets along with Duo. She's stopped by every day since the boys left, and they've got a pretty good friendship going on as far as I can tell. There is just no convincing her that Duo would look a bit better if he had some facial hair, though. She and I have discussed some strange things since we met, and I enjoy talking to her, a lot.

I know she isn't the same as having the guys around for Trowa, and I'll bet those two went to Earth for their honeymoon. Miss Relena did plot their honeymoon since the day of their engagement, and I've never realized just how many seaside resorts there was to choose from. I overheard the guys joking about that one day, and caught a glimpse of Heero. I expected him to be annoyed, but he looked rather content instead. I guess boys secretly do enjoy a woman's incentive.

"Hey, Catherine," Hilde said from the other side of the room, and I turned to face her. She held up one dirty dish, and she had the look of a devil on her face. That thing looks like it's been collecting dust underneath the lion's cage for over a month; plus the side was chipped. I put down my sponge and walked away from the sink. That's enough dirty dishes for one day.

"The show's on in three hours. Did you remember your ticket?"

Hilde pulled the ticket out of her pocket and winked. I felt a smile creep across my face before I even realized it.

"Since we have time, you want to go out and get a bite to eat?"

"I dunno. The manager likes us to be early."

She tossed the chipped dish into the garbage and offered me her arm. "Then we'll be quick about it."

I laughed and gave in as soon as she hooked her arm around mine. Well, if Trowa can be fashionably late for a show, then I suppose I can be. If worse came to worse, our manager could have Sherman replace me in the knife throwing act. He's just a bit jealous of Trowa, since the lion nearly bit his arm off once.

Hilde really is crazy, because she casually stroked that lion behind the ears as we walked out.

End


End file.
